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Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

Tonight though, I think he'll get a standing ovation. I hated the guy myself, but I cant bring myself to boo the guy, he's been through too much.

I think when your wife gets MS and your incompetent doctors nearly KILL you (guess we now know why Grant tried to pay the pistons training staff to follow him to Orlando), that goes far beyond the game.

Tonight is his first night in the Palace since he wore a Pistons uni, certainly a landmark day in the 2005 season.

It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

I am posting a piece of writing from what can only be labeled as a "Detroit media fan site" (they call it a "ragzine"). Its hostile and probably goes too far but thats their shtick and it sums up well why a lot of Piston fans don't like Hill. Its not as easy as "Look what he's been through, cheer him." Everyone applauds what Hill got himself through but cheering him in the Palace would be voicing my approval of a lot more than just that.

To preface it I would just like to extend this metaphor. If you think of the Piston organization at that time as a sinking ship. Then Hill was supposed to be the Captain (going down with it and stearing it through the hard times) but instead he fled like the other rats.

There shouldn’t be much suspense left now. After spending the entire week counting down the DSR’s 20 Most Hated Athletes in honor of Grant Hill’s return tonight at the Palace, you had to know “Gimpy Albatross” was getting the top slot.

And this isn’t some sort of gimmick. If we did this list two years ago, six weeks from now or whenever, Hill was going to get the most hated crown.

And while there will be plenty of Pistons fans in attendance tonight giving Hill a nice ovation, you can be SURE AS HELL the members of the DSR won’t be included in that group. (Well, Radner probably will give him a nice hand, but that just proves our point.)

While most illogical Pistons fans have forgiven Gimpy Albatross for backstabbing the city and following his wife, Tamia, to Disney World because the Pistons ended up winning the title last year, we aren’t that gullible or naïve.

We love the argument that all should be forgiven because the Pistons ended up getting the best of the Grant Hill deal in the end. Well, some of us have memories and brains and we vividly remember the day that Hill put a gun to his next door neighbor Joe Dumars’ head and forced him to complete the sign-and-trade with the Magic.

I can remember the deal like it was yesterday and watching Channel 7’s Don Shane announce the transaction. He mentioned that Hill was gone and then briefly mentioned that in return the Pistons had acquired some guys named Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace. Shane’s comment after announcing the trade?

“Yeah .. that’s a fair deal for the Pistons.” (I can’t be 100% sure, but I think that comment was followed by some forced laughter by Diana Lewis.)

Like Gregg Schultz wrote earlier this week on this site, Hill wasn’t trying to help the Pistons get better by leaving. He was still busy recruiting Tim Duncan to Orlando to join him in what they thought would be a dynasty for years to come.

Just because Hill couldn’t get his Sprite pal to leave S.A. and join him …..

Just because Hill’s ankle injury debilitated him for years to come …...

Just because Ben Wallace turned into a monster rebounder and defensive freak ….

Just because Chucky Atkins turned into a serviceable point guard that helped the Pistons trade for Rasheed Wallace ….

Just because Doc Rivers wanted to get rid of Gimpy Albatross and his burdensome contract while he was still in Orlando ….

And just because the Pistons ended up winning the 2004 NBA Title without Hill, DOESN’T MEAN THAT ALL SHOULD BE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN!

You people want to do that, so be it. We here at the DSR actually called the Orlando Sentinel after the Pistons Game 5 victory against the Lakers last summer to inquire about how much it would cost to take out a full page ad in their paper stating:

Thanks Grant ‘Gimpy Albatross’ Hill

We couldn’t have won it WITH YOU!

You see, time hasn’t erased our memories of what happened over four years ago.

We haven’t forgotten the following:

That Hill put on a charade for his entire free-agent season by never really telling the Pistons what his intentions really were.

That he misled Dumars into believing that he was staying which led to the team selecting Mateen Cleaves instead of Morris Peterson and re-hiring “his” coach, George Irvine.

That he put the kibosh on a potential trade of Jerry Stackhouse for a just entering the league Stevie Francis, because Hill didn’t want to “rebuild” with a rookie. Things sure came full circle for Hill on that one, huh?

That his wife was upset that owner Bill Davidson “disrespected” her the year Hill was going to be unrestricted and that Tamia wanted to leave Detroit to pursue a musical career.

That he couldn’t be a man and tell Dumars that he was leaving even though he could have just walked over to Joe’s house and rang the door bell.

That he told Tracy McGrady to win the Pistons-Magic first round series at the Palace in Game 5 so the Pistons fans could experience the loss first hand. Just remember this one in particular when you are applauding the little ***** tonight.

That he publicly badmouthed Dumars before this season by questioning why Joe was being a hypocrite for complaining about the Pistons management for years (at the end of Joe’s career) and then doing a 180 and trying to sell him on staying in Detroit. Uh, Gimpy, maybe because Dumars was in control at that point and maybe Joe thought things would be different.

Grant Hill left Detroit for a few reasons and NONE OF THEM WERE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT BEN WALLACE WOULD TURN INTO AN MVP CANDIDATE AND THAT IT WOULD HELP THE PISTONS WIN A LARRY O’BRIEN TROPHY SO STOP ****ING SAYING THAT!

All of this love for what? A guy who did all of the above and never, ever, ever, ever won a playoff series in Detroit.

And please don’t tell me that he was a one-man show and couldn’t do it all himself because the team was devoid of talent.

Tell that to Allen Iverson who got to an NBA Finals or Vince Carter who reached the Eastern Conference Finals one season.

And we weren’t even asking for that, we just wanted a damn playoff series win. Something Gimpy Albatross has yet to experience to this freaking day!(And we can only hope that this pattern continues for the rest of his career.)

The guy was a phony when he was in town and that is why this city never really embraced him. Hell, NBA fans from around the country like GHILL better than basketball fans in Detroit.

Going on WDIV-4 with Carmen Harlan and yucking it up made us want to collectively vomit in our own mouths. PHONY!

Taking out a full page newspaper ad thanking the city of Detroit while he thought he was sailing off to a panacea of basketball success, music studios and a place with no state income tax? PHONY!

Going on WDFN’s Third Shift with Eric Pate and Sean Baligian for the time equivalent of a Jerry Lewis telethon? (You think Hill wanted to be there, for Vick sake, Baligian didn’t want to be there!) PHONY!

The guy could never relate to the average basketball fan in Detroit because he was a freaking phony. You want proof?

He was great friends with Mitch “Condescending Baggins” Albom when he was in town. Just go read how the pair hopped, skipped and jumped around shopping for houses back in the day in this Frodo column.

You want out-of-touch? Just start hanging out with Albom.

People with short memories will be saluting Gimpy Albatross tonight. (And Carmen Harlan of course.)

Real Pistons fans who know exactly what went down will be booing like they should.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

I am posting a piece of writing from what can only be labeled as a "Detroit media fan site" (they call it a "ragzine"). Its hostile and probably goes too far but thats their shtick and it sums up well why a lot of Piston fans don't like Hill. Its not as easy as "Look what he's been through, cheer him." Everyone applauds what Hill got himself through but cheering him in the Palace would be voicing my approval of a lot more than just that.

To preface it I would just like to extend this metaphor. If you think of the Piston organization at that time as a sinking ship. Then Hill was supposed to be the Captain (going down with it and stearing it through the hard times) but instead he fled like the other rats.

There shouldn’t be much suspense left now. After spending the entire week counting down the DSR’s 20 Most Hated Athletes in honor of Grant Hill’s return tonight at the Palace, you had to know “Gimpy Albatross” was getting the top slot.

And this isn’t some sort of gimmick. If we did this list two years ago, six weeks from now or whenever, Hill was going to get the most hated crown.

And while there will be plenty of Pistons fans in attendance tonight giving Hill a nice ovation, you can be SURE AS HELL the members of the DSR won’t be included in that group. (Well, Radner probably will give him a nice hand, but that just proves our point.)

While most illogical Pistons fans have forgiven Gimpy Albatross for backstabbing the city and following his wife, Tamia, to Disney World because the Pistons ended up winning the title last year, we aren’t that gullible or naïve.

We love the argument that all should be forgiven because the Pistons ended up getting the best of the Grant Hill deal in the end. Well, some of us have memories and brains and we vividly remember the day that Hill put a gun to his next door neighbor Joe Dumars’ head and forced him to complete the sign-and-trade with the Magic.

I can remember the deal like it was yesterday and watching Channel 7’s Don Shane announce the transaction. He mentioned that Hill was gone and then briefly mentioned that in return the Pistons had acquired some guys named Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace. Shane’s comment after announcing the trade?

“Yeah .. that’s a fair deal for the Pistons.” (I can’t be 100% sure, but I think that comment was followed by some forced laughter by Diana Lewis.)

Like Gregg Schultz wrote earlier this week on this site, Hill wasn’t trying to help the Pistons get better by leaving. He was still busy recruiting Tim Duncan to Orlando to join him in what they thought would be a dynasty for years to come.

Just because Hill couldn’t get his Sprite pal to leave S.A. and join him …..

Just because Hill’s ankle injury debilitated him for years to come …...

Just because Ben Wallace turned into a monster rebounder and defensive freak ….

Just because Chucky Atkins turned into a serviceable point guard that helped the Pistons trade for Rasheed Wallace ….

Just because Doc Rivers wanted to get rid of Gimpy Albatross and his burdensome contract while he was still in Orlando ….

And just because the Pistons ended up winning the 2004 NBA Title without Hill, DOESN’T MEAN THAT ALL SHOULD BE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN!

You people want to do that, so be it. We here at the DSR actually called the Orlando Sentinel after the Pistons Game 5 victory against the Lakers last summer to inquire about how much it would cost to take out a full page ad in their paper stating:

Thanks Grant ‘Gimpy Albatross’ Hill

We couldn’t have won it WITH YOU!

You see, time hasn’t erased our memories of what happened over four years ago.

We haven’t forgotten the following:

That Hill put on a charade for his entire free-agent season by never really telling the Pistons what his intentions really were.

That he misled Dumars into believing that he was staying which led to the team selecting Mateen Cleaves instead of Morris Peterson and re-hiring “his” coach, George Irvine.

That he put the kibosh on a potential trade of Jerry Stackhouse for a just entering the league Stevie Francis, because Hill didn’t want to “rebuild” with a rookie. Things sure came full circle for Hill on that one, huh?

That his wife was upset that owner Bill Davidson “disrespected” her the year Hill was going to be unrestricted and that Tamia wanted to leave Detroit to pursue a musical career.

That he couldn’t be a man and tell Dumars that he was leaving even though he could have just walked over to Joe’s house and rang the door bell.

That he told Tracy McGrady to win the Pistons-Magic first round series at the Palace in Game 5 so the Pistons fans could experience the loss first hand. Just remember this one in particular when you are applauding the little ***** tonight.

That he publicly badmouthed Dumars before this season by questioning why Joe was being a hypocrite for complaining about the Pistons management for years (at the end of Joe’s career) and then doing a 180 and trying to sell him on staying in Detroit. Uh, Gimpy, maybe because Dumars was in control at that point and maybe Joe thought things would be different.

Grant Hill left Detroit for a few reasons and NONE OF THEM WERE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT BEN WALLACE WOULD TURN INTO AN MVP CANDIDATE AND THAT IT WOULD HELP THE PISTONS WIN A LARRY O’BRIEN TROPHY SO STOP ****ING SAYING THAT!

All of this love for what? A guy who did all of the above and never, ever, ever, ever won a playoff series in Detroit.

And please don’t tell me that he was a one-man show and couldn’t do it all himself because the team was devoid of talent.

Tell that to Allen Iverson who got to an NBA Finals or Vince Carter who reached the Eastern Conference Finals one season.

And we weren’t even asking for that, we just wanted a damn playoff series win. Something Gimpy Albatross has yet to experience to this freaking day!(And we can only hope that this pattern continues for the rest of his career.)

The guy was a phony when he was in town and that is why this city never really embraced him. Hell, NBA fans from around the country like GHILL better than basketball fans in Detroit.

Going on WDIV-4 with Carmen Harlan and yucking it up made us want to collectively vomit in our own mouths. PHONY!

Taking out a full page newspaper ad thanking the city of Detroit while he thought he was sailing off to a panacea of basketball success, music studios and a place with no state income tax? PHONY!

Going on WDFN’s Third Shift with Eric Pate and Sean Baligian for the time equivalent of a Jerry Lewis telethon? (You think Hill wanted to be there, for Vick sake, Baligian didn’t want to be there!) PHONY!

The guy could never relate to the average basketball fan in Detroit because he was a freaking phony. You want proof?

He was great friends with Mitch “Condescending Baggins” Albom when he was in town. Just go read how the pair hopped, skipped and jumped around shopping for houses back in the day in this Frodo column.

You want out-of-touch? Just start hanging out with Albom.

People with short memories will be saluting Gimpy Albatross tonight. (And Carmen Harlan of course.)

Real Pistons fans who know exactly what went down will be booing like they should.

You want to give the guy a real salute when he comes out?

Start hopping around on one ankle.

That's a horribly written article. I would not go around propping up that piece of trash.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

I am posting a piece of writing from what can only be labeled as a "Detroit media fan site" (they call it a "ragzine"). Its hostile and probably goes too far but thats their shtick and it sums up well why a lot of Piston fans don't like Hill. Its not as easy as "Look what he's been through, cheer him." Everyone applauds what Hill got himself through but cheering him in the Palace would be voicing my approval of a lot more than just that.

To preface it I would just like to extend this metaphor. If you think of the Piston organization at that time as a sinking ship. Then Hill was supposed to be the Captain (going down with it and stearing it through the hard times) but instead he fled like the other rats.

There shouldn’t be much suspense left now. After spending the entire week counting down the DSR’s 20 Most Hated Athletes in honor of Grant Hill’s return tonight at the Palace, you had to know “Gimpy Albatross” was getting the top slot.

And this isn’t some sort of gimmick. If we did this list two years ago, six weeks from now or whenever, Hill was going to get the most hated crown.

And while there will be plenty of Pistons fans in attendance tonight giving Hill a nice ovation, you can be SURE AS HELL the members of the DSR won’t be included in that group. (Well, Radner probably will give him a nice hand, but that just proves our point.)

While most illogical Pistons fans have forgiven Gimpy Albatross for backstabbing the city and following his wife, Tamia, to Disney World because the Pistons ended up winning the title last year, we aren’t that gullible or naïve.

We love the argument that all should be forgiven because the Pistons ended up getting the best of the Grant Hill deal in the end. Well, some of us have memories and brains and we vividly remember the day that Hill put a gun to his next door neighbor Joe Dumars’ head and forced him to complete the sign-and-trade with the Magic.

I can remember the deal like it was yesterday and watching Channel 7’s Don Shane announce the transaction. He mentioned that Hill was gone and then briefly mentioned that in return the Pistons had acquired some guys named Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace. Shane’s comment after announcing the trade?

“Yeah .. that’s a fair deal for the Pistons.” (I can’t be 100% sure, but I think that comment was followed by some forced laughter by Diana Lewis.)

Like Gregg Schultz wrote earlier this week on this site, Hill wasn’t trying to help the Pistons get better by leaving. He was still busy recruiting Tim Duncan to Orlando to join him in what they thought would be a dynasty for years to come.

Just because Hill couldn’t get his Sprite pal to leave S.A. and join him …..

Just because Hill’s ankle injury debilitated him for years to come …...

Just because Ben Wallace turned into a monster rebounder and defensive freak ….

Just because Chucky Atkins turned into a serviceable point guard that helped the Pistons trade for Rasheed Wallace ….

Just because Doc Rivers wanted to get rid of Gimpy Albatross and his burdensome contract while he was still in Orlando ….

And just because the Pistons ended up winning the 2004 NBA Title without Hill, DOESN’T MEAN THAT ALL SHOULD BE FORGIVEN AND FORGOTTEN!

You people want to do that, so be it. We here at the DSR actually called the Orlando Sentinel after the Pistons Game 5 victory against the Lakers last summer to inquire about how much it would cost to take out a full page ad in their paper stating:

Thanks Grant ‘Gimpy Albatross’ Hill

We couldn’t have won it WITH YOU!

You see, time hasn’t erased our memories of what happened over four years ago.

We haven’t forgotten the following:

That Hill put on a charade for his entire free-agent season by never really telling the Pistons what his intentions really were.

That he misled Dumars into believing that he was staying which led to the team selecting Mateen Cleaves instead of Morris Peterson and re-hiring “his” coach, George Irvine.

That he put the kibosh on a potential trade of Jerry Stackhouse for a just entering the league Stevie Francis, because Hill didn’t want to “rebuild” with a rookie. Things sure came full circle for Hill on that one, huh?

That his wife was upset that owner Bill Davidson “disrespected” her the year Hill was going to be unrestricted and that Tamia wanted to leave Detroit to pursue a musical career.

That he couldn’t be a man and tell Dumars that he was leaving even though he could have just walked over to Joe’s house and rang the door bell.

That he told Tracy McGrady to win the Pistons-Magic first round series at the Palace in Game 5 so the Pistons fans could experience the loss first hand. Just remember this one in particular when you are applauding the little ***** tonight.

That he publicly badmouthed Dumars before this season by questioning why Joe was being a hypocrite for complaining about the Pistons management for years (at the end of Joe’s career) and then doing a 180 and trying to sell him on staying in Detroit. Uh, Gimpy, maybe because Dumars was in control at that point and maybe Joe thought things would be different.

Grant Hill left Detroit for a few reasons and NONE OF THEM WERE BECAUSE HE THOUGHT BEN WALLACE WOULD TURN INTO AN MVP CANDIDATE AND THAT IT WOULD HELP THE PISTONS WIN A LARRY O’BRIEN TROPHY SO STOP ****ING SAYING THAT!

All of this love for what? A guy who did all of the above and never, ever, ever, ever won a playoff series in Detroit.

And please don’t tell me that he was a one-man show and couldn’t do it all himself because the team was devoid of talent.

Tell that to Allen Iverson who got to an NBA Finals or Vince Carter who reached the Eastern Conference Finals one season.

And we weren’t even asking for that, we just wanted a damn playoff series win. Something Gimpy Albatross has yet to experience to this freaking day!(And we can only hope that this pattern continues for the rest of his career.)

The guy was a phony when he was in town and that is why this city never really embraced him. Hell, NBA fans from around the country like GHILL better than basketball fans in Detroit.

Going on WDIV-4 with Carmen Harlan and yucking it up made us want to collectively vomit in our own mouths. PHONY!

Taking out a full page newspaper ad thanking the city of Detroit while he thought he was sailing off to a panacea of basketball success, music studios and a place with no state income tax? PHONY!

Going on WDFN’s Third Shift with Eric Pate and Sean Baligian for the time equivalent of a Jerry Lewis telethon? (You think Hill wanted to be there, for Vick sake, Baligian didn’t want to be there!) PHONY!

The guy could never relate to the average basketball fan in Detroit because he was a freaking phony. You want proof?

He was great friends with Mitch “Condescending Baggins” Albom when he was in town. Just go read how the pair hopped, skipped and jumped around shopping for houses back in the day in this Frodo column.

You want out-of-touch? Just start hanging out with Albom.

People with short memories will be saluting Gimpy Albatross tonight. (And Carmen Harlan of course.)

Real Pistons fans who know exactly what went down will be booing like they should.

You want to give the guy a real salute when he comes out?

Start hopping around on one ankle.

Thanks fool. Why dont you post a pic of a Pistons fan throwing beer while you're at it.

There are plenty of ways to sum up why we hated hill without resorting to this piece of trash.

FYI, the detroitsportsrag is nothing but shock-talk. Nobody takes these idiots seriosuly.

I sincerely doubt Hill will get booed tonight.

It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

First, the two replies to me had to have either read what I quoted already or simply didn't read it at all because you simply couldn't have read it that fast.

Second, while I agree that the detroitsportsrag is a bunch of overly hostile fanatics I am not promoting them. I posted it because it lists all the crap Hill did. (As for taking them seriously, how serious can anyone take arguments posted on an internet fan site?)

Third, how is this even relatable to the Palace brawl or posting a pic of a guy throwing beer? This isn't aimed at Pacer fans and doesn't support any sort of physical action against anyone.

Finally, I think the last line goes to far but aside from that whats so terrible? People here know that some fans are hostile when writing things on the internet and like to throw insults around (Indy Star forums anyone?).

The fact remains it does a good job of listing most (if not all) the bs Hill did while he was here and why I don't agree with the nation of people, who didn't watch him screw over the Pistons, that he is an A#1 guy in every way.

Um, you DO realize that if the Pistons fans DO boo Grant Hill, it will be all over every TV station on earth, right? They'll probably show it side-by-side with the brawl footage, just for kicks.....

Finally, I think the last line goes to far but aside from that whats so terrible? People here know that some fans are hostile when writing things on the internet and like to throw insults around (Indy Star forums anyone?).

Agreed. So go post it at Indystar.

The fact remains it does a good job of listing most (if not all) the bs Hill did while he was here and why I don't agree with the nation of people who didn't watch him screw over the Pistons that he is an A#1 guy in every way.

Once again, agreed. There was a good reason why Hill was loved in every city except the city he PLAYED in.

I summed up everything in 5 sentences. I didnt need to go that far.

However, now that you posted that, you just made Grant Hill the #2 topic in this thread. Thats the LAST place I wanted to go with this.

Hicks, could you please delete this thread? I wish I could, but Im not a mod.

It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

You made the thread Kstat. I didn't hijack it with my post. Obviously you DID want the topic on here.

Its a HUGE stretch to compare me posting this to me posting a pic of a fan throwing a cup (which would be a blatant and open antagonising gesture toward the Pacer fans here).

I posted it because I didn't want to write my version of it (a less hostile one). I am in no way trying to get that sort of hostility at the IS forums here and I don't think you should worry about this one posting causing that. I'm pretty sure these people are a little more solid of character than that.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

Oh, and in no way did you sum up the list in 5 sentences. In no way does your "the fans of the team he played for don't like him" go to show WHY they don't (and neither does your "he didn't call JoeD so thats why I didn't like him").

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

This is a Pacer forum (man, everyone does like to tell you that ) I assume that a lot of people here don't know what Hill did to the Piston organization. I thought the preface to it was enough for any who might be offended but apparantly not. Sorry that I reposted something that offended you but honestly I think you are holding the sites previous crap over this quoted section as I don't think there is much to be offended over in it.

Tonight though, I think he'll get a standing ovation. I hated the guy myself, but I cant bring myself to boo the guy, he's been through too much.

I think when your wife gets MS and your incompetent doctors nearly KILL you (guess we now know why Grant tried to pay the pistons training staff to follow him to Orlando), that goes far beyond the game.

Tonight is his first night in the Palace since he wore a Pistons uni, certainly a landmark day in the 2005 season.

You clearly do understand it and you very well know that no one is booing his supporting his wife or his coming back from injury. I think highly of both those things. But cheering in the Palace for the guy is supporting the man for what he did to the Pistons. But you already do understand that.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

I'm goign to try in vain to save this thread.

This article sums things up SO MUCH BETTER.

MICHAEL ROSENBERG: Time has come to welcome home Hill

January 14, 2005

BY MICHAEL ROSENBERG
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST

Cheer for the man. And not just a polite, "nice-to-see-you-again" cheer. When Grant Hill is introduced at the Palace tonight, give him one of the warmest, loudest cheers you've ever given an opposing player.

It sounds strange, I know. When Hill left for Orlando five years ago, Pistons fans marked the date of his scheduled return and practiced booing.

Now he's finally back. But who could boo Grant Hill now? After four lost seasons, Hill is playing like an All-Star again.

It is the feel-good story of the NBA season. Booing him wouldn't be the ugliest scene at the Palace this season (ahem), but it would be appalling.

All Hill did "wrong" was A.) Act like he would probably re-sign with the Pistons and, B.) Leave for Orlando. A lot of people here took that personally.

Joe Dumars is not one of them.

"It just amazes me when people try to imply that he and I stopped being friends because he left," said Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations. "This is a guy that I have always pulled for. He and I are still very good friends because we both understood it was never personal, just a basketball decision he made."

Look, let's say your girlfriend left you for somebody else. Of course you'd be angry. But if you soon met the woman of your dreams and married her, and then your ex-girlfriend got sick and almost died, and her new boyfriend also got sick, and she struggled in her career like Paris Hilton on the entrance exam for men, and then she started to put her life back together and you ran into her on the street, would you still be angry?

I'd like to think most of us would say, "Good to see you. Glad you're doing better."

The fact is that Hill had good reasons for leaving. His Pistons were not the championship Pistons we know today. The franchise was dysfunctional. In six years, he played for four coaches and with too many teammates who weren't talented enough, didn't understand how to win, or both.

For most of that time, the only thing this franchise had going for it was Grant Hill.

Yet Hill never demanded a trade. He didn't sulk. He never took a million shots just so he could win the scoring title. He always played to win. Even with his contract expiring, he played hurt.

And when he became a free agent, he left. It made sense to most people in the NBA. Even Dumars.

"I think Grant felt that Orlando was further along in becoming contenders than the Pistons were at that time, and he made the decision to leave," Dumars said. "I always understood that."

Admittedly, a lot of Pistons fans were upset with how Hill left. He always seemed like he would come back. People in the organization believed that.

And maybe Hill was too concerned with his image and with pleasing everybody. He told some people what they wanted to hear. Well, if the worst thing you can say about somebody is he told people what they wanted to hear, you're dealing with a pretty good guy, especially in the NBA.

Hill was never supposed to be just a pretty good guy. When he came out of Duke, he was marketed as Mr. Perfect. GQ famously put him on its cover with the billing, "Can Grant Hill Save Sports?" But if you think Hill is an example of an NBA player who sold a false image to the public, I have two words for you: Kobe Bryant.

Here's another comparison: Jerry Stackhouse. Folks here still love Stackhouse, even though he was a me-first player. Stackhouse wanted to score more than win, so he had to be traded. Hill wanted to win more than score, so he left for Orlando.

Which attitude should really bother you?

Grant Hill couldn't save sports, not that sports really needed to be saved. He couldn't even save the Pistons.

But he played a lot of great basketball here, is considered one of the nicest people in the NBA, and he worked his butt off to come back when the whole league thought he was done, even though his contract was guaranteed either way. If that's not worth cheering, I don't know why we watch sports.

It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

I could almost see silence being the answer here.

Booing might be a poor choice because of circumstances over the past few years & the fac that you did win a title.

However if I was a Detroit fan I don't think I could bring myself to cheer the guy either.

If anything I hate to have a man's career impacted (thanks Jay) but to be honest the fact that the Magic had to suffer for a few years did not displease me because I thought they were always being a little to cute when it came to free agent signings back in the late 90's.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

God KStat, it's amazing how afraid you are of being hated by Pacer fans. I don't believe you were offended by that article because you're a true Pistons fan, and a true Pistons fan thinks that article is hilarious.

Undoubtedly Hill's been to Hell and back. But can't you understand why some Piston fans will always hate the guy? That's all this article is about.
For God's sakes, don't connect this to the brawl.

Re: OT: Grant Hill returns to Detroit for the first time in 5 years....

God KStat, it's amazing how afraid you are of being hated by Pacer fans. I don't believe you were offended by that article because you're a true Pistons fan, and a true Pistons fan thinks that article is hilarious.

Undoubtedly Hill's been to Hell and back. But can't you understand why some Piston fans will always hate the guy? That's all this article is about.
For God's sakes, don't connect this to the brawl.

Shags, I think you summed it up the best.

Guess Im not a "true Pistons fan" then.....

It wasn't about being the team everyone loved, it was about beating the teams everyone else loved.